1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer networks. More specifically, the invention relates to systems and methods for providing improved background services for conducting electronic commerce in computer networks.
2. Background Information
Merchants who wish to conduct business with their customers electronically are presented with a myriad of new and existing technologies that will enable and support effective electronic commerce. Conducting commerce electronically is similar to the way in which a merchant and a customer traditionally interact with each other when executing a standard business transaction (i.e., a sale of a service, a return of a product, etc.). However, unlike the traditional way of executing a business transaction, with electronic commerce, there is no direct person-to-person interaction.
Electronic commerce is conducted over a computer network, such as the Internet, which connects a merchant with many potential customers, and connects each potential customer with several merchants. In order to execute transactions electronically, both the merchant and the customer need to perform their respective functions using various software components that will allow them to electronically mimic their conventional roles in the transaction process. For example, the functions that need to be performed by the customer include selecting a merchant storefront, selecting products, and providing payment for the selected products. The functions that need to be performed by the merchant include tallying the selected products, calculating a total cost for said products (including appropriate taxes as necessary), securing customer payment, delivering the product, issuing a receipt to the customer, and recording an account of the transaction.
When conducting electronic commerce, the merchant will rely on software components to provide the necessary background services that will handle the merchandising and collection of payment for the products and services offered for sale through computer networks such as the Internet. A background service is a continuous unattended (automated) service that is provided by one or more machines or software components. Currently, there are a great number of payment instruments (credit cards, electronic cash, electronic check, etc.), and competing front-end (running at the end user's machine or workstation) and back-end (running at the merchant's machine or server) software components (electronic wallets, electronic cash registers, etc.) that can record and supply payment information and collect customer payments. These payment instruments, together with communication protocols and standards need to be supported in order to conduct effective electronic commerce.
Creating a specific electronic commerce solution that supports a variety of payment instruments, standards, and protocols, using a specific set of software components is a complex job. Furthermore, when a custom solution is created using a particular set of software components, the resulting solution tends to be heavily dependent on the components that have been utilized to create it. If one of the components needs to be changed, due to the availability of a newer technology or the changing needs of the merchant, the solution will require a revision, which often means a costly and time-consuming interruption for the merchant.
To avoid the creation of an inflexible and monolithic solution, what is needed is a software framework that will provide an extensible way to dynamically integrate the necessary background services. Using such a framework, a specific solution can be created that can be easily extended to support future electronic commerce standards and technologies, while also meeting the constantly changing needs of a merchant.
In addition, the framework should allow the creation of a solution that uses software components matching the current best-of-breed marketplace offerings. Therefore, a merchant could take advantage of both customized and commercially available software components in creating an optimal solution for his background services. As a result, flexible background services can be made available to a merchant in a relatively easy and fast manner.
3. Description of Prior Art
Prior art related to electronic commerce and merchandise is as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,838 issued Jun. 22, 1993, discloses an electronic wallet including memory for storing at least a balance corresponding to an account in a financial institution and a selective call receiver for receiving a wireless message transmitted from a remote transmitter, the wireless message including financial information relating to the balance for confirming a financial transaction with the financial institution. A controller, coupled to the memory and the receiver, can update the balance in the memory in response to the wireless message, which enters financial transactions into the communications system for multiple plurality of associated portable data devices. The wallet updates the financial transactions from the communications system to the one and at least a second of a plurality of associated portable data devices by a wireless message communication from at least one remote transmitter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,829 issued Feb. 1, 1994, discloses an electronic bill payment system and method including billing equipment for creating approval records and generating approval numbers for each pre-authorized subscriber. The system also includes an interactive payment approval apparatus into which subscribers dial to approve payment and which determines, based upon information collected, whether to initiate electronic funds transfer. An approval record database and a call history log database are also part of the bill payment system. To approve electronic bill payment a subscriber, once pre-authorized, need only dial up the payment approval apparatus and enter the assigned approval number. A series of security checks and comparisons are performed to guard against accidental and malicious entry of approval numbers. Once all security checks are cleared, a confirmation number is announced to the subscriber, and an electronic funds transfer is initiated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,949 issued Jan. 7, 1997, and filed Jan. 6, 1995, discloses an automatic account controller for remotely arranging for payment of debt to a vendor. The controller includes a detector for activating the portable account controller upon detection of an indicia of identity of an authorized user and a selector for selecting a mode of payment to the vendor. The controller further includes a keypad for entering a payment amount, a wireless transceiver for communicating with the vendor, and a processor for executing a selected mode of payment to the vendor through the apparatus for communicating.
None of the prior art discloses or suggests a general framework for integrating replaceable object-oriented software components to create specific solutions for background services according to a merchant's changing needs in electronic commerce conducted in computer networks.